Thursday, December 27, 2018

Mary Queen of Scots - Movie Review

The Story: Mary Stuart's attempt to overthrow her cousin Elizabeth I, Queen of England, finds her condemned to years of imprisonment before facing execution.

The Review:
If you're into overstated dramas like Downton Abby or sexually charged espionage like Game of Thrones (minus the graphic nudity and magical dragons, of course) then this will certainly be your cup of tea. I feel like the creative team behind this movie was trying to create something grand and powerful but it felt more like a two hour episode of those TV shows we've seen dozens of times already. I will admit, the movie is entertaining, I just expected a lot more from what could have been a prestige picture if it had been put together with bolder strokes and bigger ideas.

The two main characters, Mary and Elizabeth, are played by two of Hollywood's current premiere powerhouse actresses in Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie as well as Gemma Chan, who has recently become a rising star thanks to Crazy Rich Asians, in a much smaller role. The male actors in the film are all, to me anyway, unrecognizable either because I didn't know who they were to begin with or because their beards covered too much of their face although I did recognize Guy Pearce so there's that.

While I thought Margot Robbie was just okay in this role, she didn't have much to do to be honest, Saoirse Ronan was fantastic in bringing Mary Stuart to life in such a strong and powerful way. Mary's story, the way it was presented here, reminded me of Mel Gibson's take on William Wallace as a steadfast and determined leader and Ronan embodied that probably better than anyone else could have possibly done. If not for her performance, I would have liked this movie a lot less.